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UWF ranked 3rd for performance among Florida universities

The Florida Board of Governors announced UWF earned the third-highest score in the state university system in the Board’s performance-based funding model.(Photo: John Blackie/jblackie@pnj.com)Buy Photo

The University of West Florida has ranked among the top-performing public universities in the state for the second consecutive year.

On Wednesday, the Florida Board of Governors announced UWF earned the third-highest score in the state university system in the Board’s performance-based funding model.

The rating not only affirms the university's improvements over the past few years, it also means UWF will receive just under $10.7 million in performance funding.

UWF President Dr. Martha Saunders said she was very proud of the university's achievement and of everyone whose efforts had helped make it happen.

"This has been a campus-wide endeavor, and UWF has had to work hard to get here. We intend to stay here," Saunders said.

The Board's scoring system is surprisingly practical in many respects. In addition to scoring institutions on academic metrics like graduation rates, retention rates and grade point averages, the system also looks at practical concerns like how affordable schools are for students and what average wage graduates earn when they enter the workforce.

Each university must reach a benchmark number set by the Board of Governors and score above the bottom three of all State University System institutions in order to retain their base funding and be eligible for new state funding.

In the 2017-18 academic year, UWF earned 86 out of 100 possible points, the highest mark the university has ever received. It's a tremendous turnaround from when the performance metrics were first introduced in 2014, when UWF was ranked No. 11 and received 21 points out of the then-50-point scale. There are 12 universities under the metrics benchmark program.

Saunders said since then, and especially over the past two years, the university has invested in the whole gamut of the student experience. UWF has implemented free tutoring, robust career training and professional development programs, "safety net" programs for students in danger of failing out, a smartphone app for student advisement services and much, much more.

"You name it, I think we have put a program in place for that," Saunders said with a laugh.

Saunders added that the university had also beefed up its financial aid services, providing more scholarships, more grants and more all-around access to education for students.

She said the state's performance metrics rewarded institutions that worked to help students succeed inside and outside of the classroom, and that the mission aligned perfectly with UWF's.

"It’s very consistent with the culture at UWF," Saunders said. "I've been involved with UWF for a lot of years, and we care about what happens to students after they graduate. Handing them a diploma is very gratifying, but knowing we have given them a good handoff to the next chapter of our lives is something we have done for as long as I have been a part of that university."

Performance Funding Model metrics

• Percent of bachelor's graduates employed and/or continuing their education in first year after graduation

• Median average wages of undergraduates employed in Florida in first year after graduation